Joel Embiid Thinks ‘There’s Not Enough Toxicity’ In The MVP Conversation This Year

The NBA’s MVP race this year has been relatively anticlimactic. It sure seems like Nikola Jokic is going to march to his third MVP, although Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s play has earned him a ton of love and Luka Doncic is in the midst of a late push. Still, if the latest version of ESPN’s MVP straw poll is any indication, Jokic is going to stroll to the award.

In recent years, the discourse around the award has been far different, as Jokic and Joel Embiid have battled to be named the league’s best player. Embiid looked like he was going to put up one hell of a case to repeat, but because of a knee injury, he’s going to fall well short of the new games played minimum. Still, Embiid is now back on the floor for the Philadelphia 76ers, and on Thursday night, he gave his thoughts on how the race is going this year.

“I’m happy I’m not in the conversation,” Embiid told reporters. “That conversation has been toxic for a long time, but I’ll be honest: This year, it’s been kind of boring. This year, there’s not enough toxicity going around. It’s pretty fun, and it’s also at some point, it’s pretty bad, too. But I’m glad I’m not nowhere near that, I’m just focused on getting back healthy, obviously all great candidates and they all deserve to win. It’s just unfortunate that only one person has to win.”

Embiid, who is known for goofing around and had a smile on his face as he said this, gave these comments after the Sixers picked up a 109-105 win over the Miami Heat. The reigning MVP had 29 points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block in 33 minutes of work.